Process of chemically modifying oils.



' rTEn STATES Patented July 11, 1905.

PATENT Trice.

EDUARD MEUSEL, OF LIEGNITZ, GERMANY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,373, dated July 11,1905.

Application filed April 30, 1903. Serial No. 156,075.

To nail whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDUARD Muusnua subject of the Grand Duke ofCoburg-Gotha, residing at 8 Breslauerstrasse, Liegnitz, Silesia, in theKingdom of Prussia and Empire of Germany, have invented a new and usefulImproved Process of Chemically Modifying Oils, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to a process for chemically modifying oils.

In the year 1875 I reported on the action of bacteria upon sugar andother saccharine compounds in the presence of nitrates in an aqueoussolution, stating that the oxygen bound up with the nitrate wastransferred by the bacteria and that the formation of nitrite increasedwith the growing putrefaction.

The present invention has for its object the industrial application ofdenitrificating bacteria for breaking up the nitrogenous substances topermit of the oxygen therein contained uniting with the fatty oils tochange their chemical constitution, whereby modified oils are producedsuitable for many varied uses in the industrial arts due to the peculiarqualities imparted thereto by this chemical change.

Thorough and extensive experiments have shown that fatty oils,particularly linseed-oil, Castor-oil, colza-oil, olive-oil, poppy-oil,cotton-oil, palm-oiLcocoanut-oil, hemp-oil,wood oil, &c., are sodecomposed by the work denitriiicating bacteria at the cost of theoxygen of the nitrate that not only a decomposition into glycerin andacid but also a simultaneous partial oxidation of the glycerin and ofthe several unsaturated oleic acids takes place. The modified oilsproduced in this manner exhibit a peculiar behavior. For instance, inthe case of modified linseed-oil the resulting acid number is found tobe 185, which corresponds to the saponification number of commonlinseed-oil, and the iodin number is only 79. Thus it will be seen thatin this instance no common linoleic acid, whose iodin number variesbetween 152 and 155, is formed, such as is produced by the well-knownprocess of decomposing fat by the combined action of enzymes and acid.

In carrying this improved process into effect a culture ofdenitrificating bacteria-such as, for instance, cheese bacteriaismixedwith one kilogram of a fatty oil and two liters of a five-per-cent.solution of niter, with ad dition of suitable nutritive salts, themixture being thoroughly shaken for the purpose of effecting a goodairing. It is expedient to add chips of wood in order to accomplish asthorough a mingling as practicable of the oil with the solution of saltand the denitrificating bacteria and to eifect an energetic-airing. Thereaction takes place in the best and quickest manner at about 30centigrade. According to the kind of denitrificating bacteria and oilsthe reaction takes a longer or shorter time. After the modified oilproduced has been freed from the aqueous solution containing glycerin itpossesses a more or less modified consistency, the acid number is veryhigh, and theiodin number is often greatly changed. The productsobtained in this manner are easily soluble in a dilute solution of soda.

Any salt of nitric acid may be used; but I prefer to employ nitrates thebases of which do notlike lime and magnesia, for instance form insolublefatty salts. In lieu of nitrates use may also be made of nitrites.

The modified oils are excellently adapted for the manufacture of degras,lacquers, mordants for dyes, and like substances.

Onthe termination of the reaction the modified oil-for instance,castor-oil-may be used directly as a first-rate degras for chamoising.Together with minium, chalk, and the like it gives a coating which driesalmost instantaneously, in any case much more quickly than varnish.

By gently heating the modified oils together with dilute nitric acidyellowish to reddish bodies are produced with a vivid reaction and withgeneration of gas, such bodies possessing a strong adhesive property.They remain easily soluble in soda and alcohol and form an an excellentadmixture to lacquers and varnish and a substitute for shellac,particularly when mixed with wax. The oils which have not been modifieddo not exhibit these properties when treated with nitric acid.

By dissolving the modified oils in a dilute solution of soda I obtaincompounds which may be used directly as mordants for cotton-- forexample, in turkey-red dyeing. Apart from the great saving of mordantand dyestufi the colors produced possess a more glossy and intense tintthan when use is made of a common oleic-acid soap as a mordant, or ofthe old oil emulsion process which, as is well known, has the drawbackof necessitating a considerable consumption of oil.

For preparing lacquers the modified oils dissolved in a soda solutionare mixed with dyes, such as alizarin, and then precipitated with alumor lime salts.

It will thus be seen that the process herein described contemplates themodification of fatty oils by treating the same with nitrates in aqueoussolution or other nitrogenous sub stances and introducingdenitrificating bacteria to the mixture, allowing the same to break upthe nitrates to free oxygen, whereby not only does saponification takeplace, but also a partial oxidation of the glycerin and of the oleicacids, resulting in a chemical change of these oils which especiallyadapts them to use for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein-described process of modifying fatty oils which consistsin mixing nitrates in aqueous solution with the oils and subjecting thesame to the action of denitrificating bacteria whereby the glycerin andoleic acids of said fatty oils are oxidized, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described process of chemically modifying fatty oils whichconsists in introducing to the oils a solution of nitrates, mixing aculture of denitrificating bacteria therewith, whereby the. nitrates aredeoxidized and the glycerin and oleic acids of the oils partiallyoxidized, and finally drawing off the modified oils, substantially asdescribed.

3. The herein-described process of chemically modifying fatty oilsconsisting in changing the chemical structure of the fatty bodies of theoils by subjecting the same to the action of denitrificating bacteria inthe presence of nitrates in aqueous solution, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDUARD MEUSEL. Witnesses:

LON H. VVATZ, ALBERT SI-IENK.

